Hurricanes can only wait now for NCAA Tournament committee call

Miami's loss to Florida State on Friday made its road to the tourney more difficult

March 10, 2012|By Coley Harvey, Sun-Sentinel

ATLANTA — Miami came to Atlanta for this weekend's ACC Tournament looking for as many wins as it could muster in order to convince the NCAA Tournament committee that it belonged in the field of 68.

But following a loss to Florida State on Friday night in the quarterfinal round of the tournament, the Hurricanes may not have done enough.

As one of several "bubble" teams who bracket experts for weeks have believed needed a strong conference tournament run, the Hurricanes were probably, at best, two wins shy of impressing the committee to the point they would be included in the NCAA Tournament, which begins next week.

Some bracket projectionists still have them among their pool of "first four out" of the tournament teams.

The Hurricanes are bracing for what could be a wild Sunday.

"You never want to leave it in anyone else's hands, because you never know what their opinion is of you," Hurricanes guard and Orlando product Shane Larkin said. "I still believe were a tournament-quality team. We played without one of our best players [Friday] against the No. 17 team in the country, and we were in it the whole way.

"So, I still believe we belong there, but it's never good to leave it in other people's hands."

At this point, Miami can only wait until the NCAA Tournament bids are announced during Sunday night's Selection Show that is aired on ESPN. Coverage of the entire show begins at 6 p.m.

As for FSU, its season will march on despite what happens in Sunday's ACC Tournament championship against North Carolina. The Seminoles play North Carolina at 1 p.m.